East Asian Studies

Location

About East Asian Studies

The Department of East Asian Studies is committed to offering a rigorous, innovative, and interdisciplinary environment in which students learn a variety of critical and historical approaches to the study of East Asian arts, cultures, histories, languages, literatures, media, and social practices. The research expertise of our faculty members spans a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds from anthropology; archaeology; art history; ethnic studies; film and media studies; gender and women‘s studies; history and literature; to religion both institutional and popular.

The unique curriculum of East Asian Studies allows students to gain an intellectually rich, historically informed, theoretically sophisticated, and materially grounded understanding of China, Japan, and Korea as spaces of dynamic formation and transformation, all the while developing proficiency in languages of the region. Graduate students may choose from a wide range of courses offered both by the Department and other departments in the Faculty of Arts, and in other faculties that encourage the development of strong intellectual connections with multiple disciplines.

The Centre for East Asian Research (CEAR), affiliated with the Department of East Asian Studies, actively supports and encourages community outreach. It offers a wide range of activities throughout the year such as lectures, presentations, seminars, workshops, speech contests, cultural activities, and additions of new associate members.

The M.A. program requires a thesis that engages with current theoretical and methodological issues and uses both primary and secondary sources in East Asian languages. Entering students are expected to have a background and/or degree in disciplines relating to East Asia, and have knowledge of an East Asian language. Graduates of our program are pursuing careers in academia, publishing, government service, the financial industry, media and communications, and other fields.

The Ph.D. program requires a thesis that engages with current theoretical and methodological issues and uses both primary and secondary sources in East Asian languages. Entering students are expected to have a background and/or degree in disciplines relating to East Asia and have knowledge of an East Asian language. Graduates of our program are pursuing careers in academia, publishing, government service, the financial industry, media and communications, and other fields.

East Asian Studies Admission Requirements and Application Procedures

Admission Requirements

General

A minimum standing equivalent to a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.0 out of 4.0, or a CGPA of 3.2/4.0 for the last two full-time academic years.

TOEFL, GRE, and IELTS (if applicable).

Applicants who have not studied at a Canadian institution must submit official copies of their Graduate Record Examination (GRE) at the time of application. These scores must come directly from the Educational Testing Service; hard copies and photocopies are not accepted. A minimum Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of 577 (paper based test) or an overall score of 86 (with no less than 20 in each of the four component scores) is required of all applicants whose mother tongue is not English and who have not completed an undergraduate or graduate degree at a foreign institution where English is the language of instruction, or at a recognized Canadian institution (anglophone or francophone). Alternatively, students proving their English proficiency may use the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) examination, for which the minimum score is an overall band score of 6.5 (academic module). For the TOEFL and GRE, you must indicate the McGill University institution code: 0935.

M.A.

Applicants must hold, or expect to hold by September of the year of entry, a bachelor's degree in East Asian Studies or a related field. Applicants are expected to have proficiency in the East Asian language(s) most useful for the proposed graduate work (preferably three years or more of coursework, or equivalent).

Ph.D.

Applicants must hold, or expect to hold by September of the year of entry, a master's degree in East Asian Studies or a related field.

Application Procedures

The application deadline for the September 2015 term is January 9, 2015.

Additional Requirements

The items and clarifications below are additional requirements set
by this department:

Curriculum Vitae

Research Proposal – approximately 500 words for master's and five pages for Ph.D. applicants. A description of the proposed research project, with brief bibliography, should be included in the Research Proposal.

GRE – required for applicants who have not studied at a Canadian university

Application Deadlines

The application deadlines listed here are set by the Department of East Asian Studies and may be revised at any time. Applicants must verify all deadlines and documentation requirements well in advance on the appropriate McGill departmental website; please consult the list at www.mcgill.ca/gps/contact/graduate-program.

Canadian

International

Special/Exchange/Visiting

Fall: Jan. 9

Fall: Jan. 9

Fall: Jan. 9

Winter: N/A

Winter: N/A

Winter: N/A

Summer: N/A

Summer: N/A

Summer: N/A

Admission to graduate studies is competitive; accordingly, late and/or incomplete applications are considered only as time and space permit.